Royals upset Stingrays with Shootout Victory

We arrived at the Sovereign Center in downtown Reading just as both teams were taking to the ice for their pre-game warm-ups. As mentioned in my previous entry, this was our first opportunity to see South Carolina in person, and it was great seeing a few familiar names from the Capitals roster. It was certainly not hard to miss the towering Joe Finley, who we had not seen since his short stint in Hershey last season. We also noticed a lot of new names and faces amongst the Royals. We were certainly disappointed to learn that Dan Rudiseula had not been resigned, and like many others that preceded him, was now playing hockey in Europe. It is a shame that players we have come to know, such as Josef Boumedienne and Shawn Collymore, have made such little impact in the North American pro-ranks that they've had to ply their trade elsewhere.

Once the game got underway, it was VERY difficult to root against either team. We are fond of the Royals, but we were also loyal to the NHL affiliation with the Caps. It was hard to cheer respectfully when the Rays scored, and almost impossible to stay seated when the Royals took their turn finding the back of the net. Spotting some friends from Hershey in the crowd, we moved after the first period to both not alienate the fans in our section and to have strength in numbers to support the visiting team.

The game itself was a sequence of fights and a shootout - but this was not a Clint Eastwood western - this was ECHL hockey. Joe Finley would indeed drop the gloves, as would Matt Fornataro and Nate Kiser (an impressive defenseman). However, it came down to a duell between two great goaltending prospects: Braden Holtby for the Rays and Andrew Engelage for the Royals. Needing to stand tall, Holtby would be beaten by Jared Ross in the shootout and the home team would take the victory. In a way, it was a win-win for us - the Stingrays beat the Royals just 24 hours earlier, and then took an extra point in defeat. While the Rays headed home with 3 out of 4 points on the road, the Royals also salvaged a victory of their own for the 5000 fans in attendance.

Torn Loyalties Tonight

We are heading to Reading, PA tonight for our first taste of Royals hockey. While our visits to the Sovereign Center only account for a small percentage of our hockey viewing pleasure, we always enjoy the fast paced action that the ECHL offers. Tonight, however, we face the paradox of having our Royals host the South Carolina Stingrays (affilates of the Washington Capitals), and thus questions arise as to where our loyalties will lie. We are supportive of the Royals, but with no emotional ties to either the Toronto Maple Leafs or Boston Bruins, it will be almost impossible to cheer against the Rays. We look forward to seeing the likes of Josh Godfrey, Michael Dubuc, Joe Finley, Jake Hauswirth, and possibly even Braden Holtby who was recently reassigned. Indeed, talk about being between a rock and a hard place.

So our apologies in advance to the Royals. We support you and always wish you success, but just this once our loyalties to the Capitals will take precedence. Next time we visit the Sovereign Center, we'll be rooting for the home team, honestly.

On a side note, we are looking forward to seeing Kyle Laughlin play tonight for Reading - son of CSN color commentator, Craig Laughlin. Hopefully Craig can take time out to visit Reading and see his son play.